Saturday, September 24, 2016

Hospitals supported by MSF in eastern Aleppo have reported significant increases in the numbers of wounded patients, following days of relentless bombing on the besieged city. In just two days, MSF-supported hospitals report that 145 wounded people were admitted, and that they had registered 23 deaths. MSF is deeply concerned about the effects on civilians of the bombing campaign, and the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas in the city.

“People in Aleppo already suffocating under the effects of the siege, have yet again come under horrific attack”, said Carlos Francisco, MSF head of mission in Syria. “No aid, including urgent medical supplies is allowed to enter. We are deeply worried by the high numbers of wounded reported by the hospitals we support, and also know that in many areas the wounded and sick have nowhere to go at all – they are simply left to die.”

Since July, when the siege started, the people of east Aleppo have faced this situation alone. “The world has watched Aleppo under siege and civilians killed and trapped and done nothing. The Syrian conflict is a devastating showcase of all atrocities that can be conceived of in a conflict zone. A horrific reality where the rules of war don’t exist and instead there is a total onslaught on civilian lives and infrastructure – including the relentless targeting of medical facilities”.

MSF supports eight hospitals in Aleppo city. It runs six medical facilities across northern Syria and supports more than 150 health centres and hospitals across the country, many of them in besieged areas.